Still, the bad actors taint everyone — which is why Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam began pushing last week for greater transparency and accountability for Florida nonprofits.

Good for him.

Still, Putnam's proposal seems to target the lowest-hanging fruit: banning felons from fundraising, for instance, and new requirements for groups that spend less than 25 percent of donations on services. Instead of punishments for the worst, I'd prefer transparency for all.

At least it's a start.

Really, though, none of this would be needed if all nonprofits followed some common-sense rules.

Too often, the fault rests with boards of directors that didn't do their jobs.

It is one of this country's biggest problems.

From billion-dollar corporations on Wall Street to nonprofits in our own backyard, we see organizations fall apart — and board members who claim they never saw it coming.

That's because they weren't looking.

Often in this town, I see people who seek board appointments not because they want to serve but because they view the seats as résumé-builders that give them cachet in the community.

They join for vanity rather than humanity. When that happens, bad things follow.

Board members are meant to be watchdogs.

So government-imposed regulations aside, here are seven steps that nonprofit boards can take to make donors feel good about giving:

•Be transparent. If you are asking for money, donors deserve to know how it's spent. All of it.

•Ask tough questions. Too often, savvy businesspeople who bird-dog details in their day jobs check their brains at the door when they step into another boardroom. Board members should know how their charity's money is being spent, how resources are being used and whether stated missions are being met. If you can't get straight answers to direct questions, that's a big red flag.

•Don't make deals with other board members. This should be a no-brainer. Board appointments shouldn't be used as inside tracks to score profitable contracts. If you have a member whose business wants to donate his or her company's services, super. But when it comes to something such as paid legal contracts, remind yourself that there are about 100,000 Bar-certified lawyers in this state. What are the odds that the most qualified one of those 100,000 people also happens to be the guy or gal sitting next to you?

•Have best-practice policies in place. We're talking term limits to keep board members fresh, guidelines for how much money should be in reserves and long-term plans that help you focus on the big picture rather than the crisis du jour.

•Don't allow yourself to be feted with gifts, presents or trips. I knew things were amiss at Florida's Blood Centers the moment I learned that the agency had spent $52,000 on a retreat at the Ritz-Carlton. It's amazing how many otherwise-smart people on that retreat didn't know as well. That's $52,000 that couldn't be spent on the mission the blood centers is always promoting: saving lives. As a general rule: Think about how your donors — whether they're giving blood or money — would react to your spending.

•Get validated. Organizations such as the Central Florida Foundation review and validate the financials of hundreds of nonprofits in Central Florida, giving donors confidence to donate. These exercises are generally good for getting your house in order. More info on this one at cffound.org.

•Never let the ends justify the means. If you ever find yourself answering questions about wasted money or unethical deals with responses such as, "Well, at the end of the day, we get the job done," you have a problem.

The vast majority of nonprofits do great and altruistic work. Their leaders give selflessly. And their efforts change lives.